Thursday, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) began annual discharge operations of the Devils Lake Outlets. Both the West and East Outlets are currently operating at 75 cubic feet per second (cfs) for a combined pumping rate of 150 cfs. When operating at full capacity, the West and East Devils Lake Outlets combined are able to discharge 600 cfs.

From where the lake was before freeze-up last fall at elevation 1,447.1, Devils Lake has risen about 3.5 feet so far this year to an elevation of 1450.6 feet. The lake is expected to potentially rise to a peak elevation of around 1,451 feet by mid-summer.

Department of Water Resources staff have continued to work with local, state, and federal partners to monitor run-off conditions in the Devils Lake Basin very closely this spring. In addition, on May 11 a meeting of the Devils Lake Outlets Management Advisory Committee was held in Devils Lake to assess existing basin conditions, to review the 2021 outlet operational summary, to outline 2022 operations, and to hear from impacted landowners and stakeholders.

“With the rising lake levels that we’ve seen again at Devils Lake this spring and early summer, the outlets will continue to be a critical component in ongoing efforts to reduce flood-related damages in that region,” said DWR Director Andrea Travnicek. “As in the past, downstream river flows and water quality conditions will continue to be monitored and outlet operations will be adjusted as necessary to ensure they’re being operated as efficiently and responsibly as possible.”